Royal Road of the Extra Scribe

24

Our army held a banquet from morning till well past noon.

I hosted the banquet for various reasons, but primarily to alleviate the fatigue of the troops.

By having a banquet like this from morning, the soldiers naturally drifted off to sleep due to the satisfaction and loosening of tension.

I allowed the soldiers to enjoy the sweetness of laziness.

“There are other purposes as well, but this is also an important element.”

Upon my words, the knight Anton exclaimed in awe.

“I see. You’re planning a night raid!”

“That’s right. The 10,000 reinforcements on their way here will attempt to join us under the cover of night.”

We were confident that if they attempted to join during the day, we would obstruct them.

With Sophia Veron’s army currently cornered in one place, bringing in troops during broad daylight posed a significant risk for Beccabia.

“They will try to join us at night using their own march route to avoid our interception. Most likely, that marching point is here.”

As I pointed to the spot on the map, the officers automatically nodded in agreement.

“The Rohaden Crossroads. It’s quite a detour, but the wide road makes it effective. It makes sense.”

“Yes, it does. And because of that, the enemy is probably anticipating it.”

“…Anticipating?”

“Sophia Veron knows that we will try to ambush them at the Rohaden Crossroads.”

“Then the reinforcements won’t come through the Rohaden Crossroads?”

“From here on, it’s psychological warfare. Holding the banquet was part of that preparation.”

From morning till noon, the banquet continued.

Having witnessed this, Sophia would become conscious of a full-scale night battle. Given the potential confusion in the command structure of a large-scale night battle in difficult terrain, the risks were high.

In a situation where we already needed to bring in reinforcements, it was evident that engaging in combat in rugged terrain would lead to a high number of casualties.

Hence, there was a high likelihood that they would prefer to engage in battle at the open Rohaden Crossroads.

Understanding the enemy’s psychology and predicting their moves. This was the basis on which I operated the army.

“What do you plan to do? Shall we move to the Rohaden Crossroads? Or…”

“We’re heading to the Rohaden Crossroads. From here on… the direction of this war will be determined.”

This operation was the decisive move I prepared to checkmate.

The Rohaden Crossroads was a thoroughfare that Beccabia had pioneered for efficient trade.

To the southwest was Albad, to the south Caliper, and to the southeast a major road leading to the Crossing Republic. This thoroughfare was also an easy route for the army to march on.

Beccabia’s 10,000 reinforcements were heading towards Carlington using this route.

And just as they were about to head towards Carlington.

“Enemy attack! The enemy is approaching!”

The Beccabia reinforcements sounded the alarm.

General Teltale, who was in command, shouted as if he had been waiting.

“Do not panic! Units, confirm the signals for the night battle and respond to the enemy!”

Teltale busily tried to assess the size of the enemy forces.

“Darn it! It’s too dark to see well…!”

The moon, obscured by clouds, was darker than usual, which posed a hindrance.

But soon, that was not an issue.

Even in such darkness, the size of the army was large enough to be easily confirmed.

Roughly 40,000.

“The audacity…! Mobilizing the entire army for a surprise attack!”

Boldness had gone too far.

Mobilizing the entire force for such a sudden attack?

This surprise operation was further north than the Carington Frontline, meaning it was within Beccabia’s territory.

Once inside Beccabia’s territory, one could not expect any supplies.

The enemy had completely disregarded supply lines and entered hostile territory.

If Sophia had used this to her advantage, marching back towards the Crossing Republic to cut off supply routes and threaten territory, Crossing would have been in chaos.

However, Sophia ultimately did not do that.

That was the crucial part.

‘She truly understands Princess Sophia’s psyche… Mercenary Wade. A fearsome man.’

Yet, Sophia’s actions were not entirely wrong.

“Save our brothers–!!”

Under the command of General Macully Coon, a force of 20,000 came to support.

Sophia even anticipated that Alz might strengthen this sudden attacking force and sent a force of 20,000 to support.

It was a thoroughly calculated move.

She even anticipated the possibility of Alz attacking the main force in the absence of the 20,000 troops.

In that case, she planned to use the 30,000 troops, including reinforcements, to strike the enemy’s flank.

Sophia’s flawless command in handling every situation.

“Now they’ve arrived!”

Teteil’s face turned pale.

He immediately signaled for a retreat.

Although Sophia had sent reinforcements of 20,000 in anticipation of a strong attack, the enemy was crazier than expected.

“Macully! We’re at a disadvantage here! We must retreat and regroup at the main camp!”

“Yes! The Princess mentioned that if we retreat into the mountains, the enemy won’t pursue us any further!”

“The Gariton Mountains! Good! We’ll open a path in that direction!”

Teteil began the retreat command in earnest.

And then.

“…They were there?”

Alz seemed to have been waiting, as he pinpointed Teteil’s location.

Thud! Alz, Ilya, and Eonia, bursting through the breach.

Teteil had to deal with this head-on.

“I’ve fallen for it…! They were waiting for me to direct the retreat!”

Reading in advance that the Beccabia army would retreat to the Gariton Mountains, Alz had no trouble reading Teteil’s retreat orders.

Alz quickly saw through that, grasping the commander’s exact location through the movements of his troops and soldiers.

“General! We must retreat immediately!”

Macelli spoke urgently, but Teltale shook his head.

“No, I will stall here.”

“What!?”

“The enemy is trying to focus solely on me. That means a wider path is open elsewhere. Macelli, what’s crucial now is not just one officer but as many soldiers as possible. It is our mission to send as many troops as we can to Princess Sophia! So go!”

“Urgh!”

Macelli, biting his lips to draw blood, rose from his seat and began to withdraw the troops.

And soon after.

Thud thud thud thud! The soldiers swept away.

Teltale faced three overwhelming spear masters.

Upon identifying Alse with the gray helmet among them, he growled.

“So, you’re Wade…! Do you think wagging your tail at Crossing will do you any good?”

“I have no tail to wag. But rather… You must be the Third General Teltale, right?”

“Yes, I am Casolla Teltale of Bekabia! Wade, do you have the courage to face me one-on-one like a man? If you defeat me, you could earn a reputation that shakes the continent.”

“Well… If you plan to stall, why not be more creative about it?”

…”

As Alse had said, this bold move was merely a stall tactic.

To somehow buy time for the other soldiers to escape.

And Alse…

“Hmm. Hmm. Hmmm.”

Despite knowing it was a stalling tactic, he calmly observed the situation.

It was then that Teltale felt a deep sense of foreboding.

“…What are you scheming, anyway?”

“No need to know. It seems it’s done now. Eo, take care of it. As I said before, do not leave any scars on the face.”

Eo, with a long spear aimed, turned towards Teltale.

Similarly, Teltale, with a halberd tipped with a crescent-shaped blade, measured the distance.

“Hat! The last Valkyrie of the Kurabel Empire has become a mere mercenary’s dog. The heavenly Emperor must be weeping and pounding the earth!”

“A mere mercenary’s dog? How short-sighted. My lord will become an emperor.”

“Such nonsense that it’s not even laughable! Huaah!”

Clang! The halberd swung with force.

However, Eo easily parried the attack and pushed Teltale back. There was a clear gap between them.

In an instant, thud! A spear pierced through the heart.

Eo smiled coldly, queen-like, as Teltale gasped.

“Your death was not in vain. It paved the way for my lord to walk the Royal Road. Rejoice and close your eyes.”

“Gurk!?”

Teltale gasped as his life ebbed away.

Alse approached Eo and said, “Don’t talk about Royal Road and Emperor stuff. Remember I told you not to.”

“Oh, yes! I… I’ll be cautious.”

The ruthless queen-like demeanor vanished, leaving Eo confused and lost.

* * *

The army of Crossing launched a surprise attack with 40,000 troops.

Upon receiving this report, Sophia swallowed hard.

“Madman, out of his mind….”

Even from an attacking standpoint, it was not a rational choice to launch a surprise attack with only 40,000 troops.

“So? How far has the enemy pursued us?”

McKelly, now a crippled horse, spoke with a weak voice.

“They pursued us to the mountains. It seems they halted the pursuit around the middle of the mountains. Currently, they seem to be regrouping at Gariton Mountain.”

“As expected….”

“Princess, just in case, prepare to reinforce the supply route. If they veer right from Gariton Mountain, they might aim straight for our supply route.”

“Who do you think I am? Preparations for defending the supply route have already been made. We’ve even concentrated our forces along the supply route and deployed them. If the enemy targets the supply route, we’ll receive immediate reports.”

If they indeed targeted the supply route, it would be time for a counterattack.

The enemy had entered Beccabia’s territory, ignoring supplies. By stalling, they could crush the enemy in one fell swoop.

If that situation arose, they would thoroughly crush them.

“More importantly, it’s crucial to first root out the sneaky mice that have infiltrated unnoticed.”

Sophia thought that Alz had likely planted a large number of spies during the night battle.

With soldiers still trickling back to camp like sausages, there was a high possibility of spies mixing in.

She gathered the officers and shouted.

“We will extensively reorganize the camp! Thoroughly verify the soldiers’ identities, and immediately exclude anyone suspected of being a spy and organize them separately!”

This operation would cost Beccabia’s army about a day.

And on the following day at dawn, Sophia was faced with a report that made her doubt her ears.

“Urgent─!!”

A soldier began the report with a face blanched with fear.

“Kesillian Fortress and Geoksan Castle have been captured by the enemy!”

In an instant, Beccabia’s camp was engulfed in a deadly silence.